Behind every good business is good marketing — this is a fact. Be it digital, print marketing or word of mouth, if you’re not doing a good job of getting out there nobody will know you exist.

Smart business people know this, but it’s the “how” of getting out there that puzzles people. Your industry, competitors, target market and goals will drive your marketing strategy — and that will change from business to business — but no matter the marketing plan, there is one constant element that most businesses overlook: owning their marketing.

Why own versus rent

Owning your marketing is taking control of it and doing all that you can to make sure your assets are the best on the block and working hard for you. Renting your marketing is when you pay for other outlets, like social media platforms and search engines, to do your marketing for you.

There are benefits to both renting and owning, but owning will build better capital.

Think of it in terms of owning and renting a house. When you own a house, the renovations and upgrades you make to the house build value. The money you invest into a home will give you returns for years to come.

When you rent a place, the money you spend on landscaping or fixing the fence benefits you in the moment but unless you rent for life, it essentially just adds value to your landlord’s property.

For some reason, businesses forget about renovating their own house and jump too quickly to rented space. If you want potential customers to find you long after your rent has expired, here’s what you need to do.

Supercharge your website

Before you start paying for Google Ad words or other online marketing, work on getting your website up to snuff. Proper use of keywords, meta data, tags, images and content will increase your search engine optimization (SEO). Without a high-functioning website with quality content, your online marketing efforts will fall flat no matter how much you pay to external sources to push your link.

Be more than a social butterfly

Social media can be a powerful (and free) marketing tool when you use it correctly. It’s not enough to just have a Facebook page or a Twitter account.

You need to post regularly and post intriguing information that will engage your audience. You know your business best, so start posting about upcoming news from your company or industry, helpful tips, share articles, ask questions and have conversations.

And don’t just rely on Facebook.

LinkedIn, Snapchat, Twitter, Instagram, Pintrest, Google+ all have their place and could be a good fit for your businesses.

Build equity for your brand

Before you boost that next post or opt-in to a pay-per-click deal, ask yourself: before I rent more space, have I made the best use of what I already own?